Guilt of the One Left Behind
by MayaAtMidnight
Summary: Al is captured and Ed will stop at nothing to save him, but now Ed's gravely injured and in the hospital. Roy continuously blames himself for not being able to protect the child he's so often thought of as a son, and Ed's situation takes a turn for the worst. FMA parental!RoyxEd. Warnings for violence, blood, angst, and coarse language.
1. Chapter 1

A cool, early morning breeze blew through the quiet town as the soldiers rushed through the streets. The smell of rain was fresh in the air and the soldiers boots made squishing sounds as they splashed through the puddles and forced their way through the thick mud. It had been raining nonstop all week and it seemed somehow ominous that it had finally stopped now.

Colonel Roy Mustang gritted his teeth in apprehension and called out to his team to hurry. The sun was already starting to set and he couldn't shake the nagging fear that they might be too late.

They kept running at full speed until the "abandoned" warehouse came into view not too far away. They were almost there. The townspeople all thought that the building was abandoned but Roy new that it was far from it. A group of scientists working for the Homunculi had been secretly using it to conduct their experiments to create philosopher stones. As far as he knew, they had only been able to create incomplete philosopher stones that would eventually become useless after being used a number of times. They had yet to create a perfect one, but the fact that the town seemed so empty worried Roy. Shouldn't there be some people coming out of their homes to find out what soldiers were doing in their small, peaceful town? Populace in the West tended to be very sparse and so the military had few posts in this area when compared to Central. But then again, he might just be jumping to conclusions.

Mustang winced as he recalled the events that had led up to this evening.

_/flash back/_

It was 2:45 am when Mustang heard a nock at his door. His mind was still muddled from sleep so it didn't register how hard and insistent the nocking was enough to make him concerned. He was mostly just irritated at being woken up when he would have to wake up early for work in the morning. Roy even considered completely incinerating whoever it was, but then thought better of it. He yawned, heading groggily toward the door and turning the nob to see who was bothering him at this late hour.

It was Edward.

For a moment he wasn't sure what to say. The blond had never visited his house in the past, he wasn't even sure if Ed knew where he lived. Yet here he was, standing on Mustang's doorstep in the middle of the night. That's when he noticed Ed was bleeding and his automail arm was missing. It wasn't just a little blood ether. It didn't look life threatening though, nothing the kid hadn't survived before. He was also panting heavily and there was perspiration on his forehead. It could have been from running however long the distance was to Mustang's house, or from his wounds, he wasn't sure. Whatever the case, Roy wanted to know what in the world had happened and what he was doing here.

"Ed? What's going on? Why are you here..." Roy lifted his arm to his face in an attempt to rub the sleep from his eyes before directing his gaze back toward the boy. "I thought I sent you to investigate some small towns and cities in the west; what are you doing back so soon? And how'd you get yourself hurt?" His voice was even and calm but a look of uncertainty and worry was clearly expressed on his features.

Mustang had sent Ed on his newest mission only a few days ago. It surprised him that he was back so soon. Maybe he had just done a half assed job and come back early? Roy wouldn't put it past the runt, but then, why would he come right to his superior officer's door? It was almost as if he was begging for lecture or punishment. No, that couldn't be it, and that also wouldn't explain his injuries, even though they didn't look too serious.

"I know! But we were... they came outta no where... It happened so fast and I-" He coughed and a bit of blood began to drip in a steady stream from his mouth.

"Ed? Are you okay? Do you need to go to the infirmary?" Roy was starting to get panicked now, maybe his wounds were worse then he thought. He wasn't able to see much under the blood-soaked, tattered remains of his coat and shirt.

"No way! I'm fine! We don't have time for that anyway! I gotta save Al!" Ed protested with the beginnings of hysteria rising in his voice.

"Calm down Ed, and tell me what happened." Roy did his best to keep his voice calm but he was actually getting really worried. This mission was supposed to be completely safe with no chance of conflict. It was just an investigation mission. And the fact that Ed had gotten so badly injured when Mustang was so sure he was safe unsettled him.

"No time... gotta save..." It seemed as if the boy could no longer keep his thoughts together and his eyes were staring at nothing. Mustang wondered if he had forgotten who he was talking to and where he was entirely. "He's my little brother... need to protect... Al..." Ed suddenly fell forward and mustang caught him, staggering backward slightly.

Roy sighed. "Looks like he passed out on me." It was probably from blood loss. The boy did look awfully pale. "And I'm no closer to understanding what happened then I was when I first opened the door." Picking up Ed's limp body bridal style, he headed toward his bathroom to fetch his first aid kit.

XxXxXxXxX

Ed knew he was dreaming, but it was just so vivid. That was probably just because of how recently it happened though. He remembered the sound of many footsteps, the quiet whispering of the scientists, and most of all, Al's screams. Surprisingly, it hadn't taken them long to figure out that he was just a soul bonded to a suit of armor. They then began poking and prodding at his blood seal which was met with Al's screams. The worst part of it was, they sounded like screams of pain, and Al shouldn't be able to feel anything at all without his body.

Ed had tried and tried to free them both, but both of Al's legs and his left arm had been completely torn off and ripped to shreds to prevent him from escaping. As for Ed, all they had to do was tie him up and remove his automail arm and he was helpless, especially since he was so banged up from trying to fight them all off at once when they were first captured. He couldn't do much at all without his arm, including alchemy.

The scientists that were holding them captive untied Ed for some reason, a reason he wasn't sure he wanted to find out, and one of the men began leading him into another room and away from his brother. Ed would die before he'd leave his little brother while he was in so much danger, so quickly, almost impulsively, he ducked under the hold of the man's arm and kicked out with his automail foot, sending the man in a shocked fall flat on his face. Ed was so focused on not leaving his brother that he hadn't really thought about what he would do next. Al was still immobile, so soon enough they'd just grab Ed and tie him back up wouldn't they?

Al had something else in mind entirely.

He almost didn't know how to respond when he heard his little brother scream at him to run, get out while he still could, leave him behind. He had refused of course, how could Al even suggest such a thing? But Al was completely set on this plan and would not waver in his resolve.

Finally, seeing such fierce emotion in his little brother's soul-fire eyes, regardless of him being an emotionless suit of armor, Ed had given in. He knew that the both of them staying in that place without any means of escape wouldn't help anyone, but Ed had promised Al that he would go find help and be back soon. He promised his little brother that he would save him, that he would protect him at all costs. There was no doubt about the look of complete and utter trust in his brother's unblinking stare as Ed's determined eyes met with them, before he reluctantly turned around, and ran.

XxXxXxXxX

When Ed opened his eyes he was staring strait ahead at an unfamiliar beige wall. He looked around, confused and groggy from sleep, trying to figure out where he was. He looked out a window to his left to see it was still raining outside and causing everything to seem especially dark and gloomy. He was in a bed, but this wasn't his bed, and this room wasn't the dorm him and Al shared. He tried sitting up, but fell back down with a grunt of pain. His chest felt like it was on fire.

"Morning sleepy head," came a familiar voice to his right. He looked up to see Mustang standing over him.

"Mustang..? What are you doing here? Wait... where is here?" Ed asked, still confused.

"I should be asking _you_ what _you're_ doing here. Well I tried to at least, before you passed out on me last night." That's when Ed remembered what had happened. And most of all, the importance of him saving Al.

"Wait! Al! I need to save Al!" Ed said, trying to get up again without much success.

"Before I let you do anything, I need to know what happened," Mustang said evenly.

"Oh... right... okay. It was only a day after we arrived at one of the towns you wanted us to investigate. We didn't think there was any danger... I let my guard down... and then we were ambushed." Ed explained to Mustang about everything that happened. While he was talking, he noticed that his shirt was gone, his chest was bandaged, and there was a bandage covering the scar over his right eye that had opened up during the struggle. Had Mustang done that?

"I understand," Roy said after a moment of contemplation. A small hint of worry shone through his façade.

Ed tried again to get up, this time managing to prop himself up against the headboard with a small wince. It was difficult with one arm, bitterly reminding him of how he had lost his metal appendage. "What are we waiting for?! Let's go save him!" he shouted impatiently when Mustang stayed silent for too long.

"Ed... you're in no condition to fight. Plus, you can't even preform alchemy without your arm."

"Then lets go get my arm! It should still be there!"

"No Fullmetal. You are to stay here and recover until I can get some backup. If there are as many people there as you said, it would be dangerous for only the two of us to go, even if you were in top condition. And that's an order," Mustang said sternly.

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I CAN'T JUST SIT HER AND WAIT WHILE MY BROTHER IS IN DANGER! I PROMISED HIM I'D BE BACK WITH HELP! YOU CAN'T JUST TELL ME NOT TO HELP HIM YOU HEARTLESS BASTARD!" Ed screamed back, his voice getting louder and louder.

"And what good will it do if you both get torn to shreds? Your brother told you to run for a reason! To keep you safe! And until we have backup and you're recovered we won't be able to help him! Get that through your thick skull!" Mustang replied, only barely containing his anger. The kid was really trying his patience. He was actually quite worried and nervous on the inside, but as a man not so adept at showing his inner feelings, he replaced those feelings with anger.

"I DON'T CARE! AL'S LIFE IS FAR MORE IMPORTANT THEN MINE! IF I HAVE TO GIVE UP MY LIFE TO SAVE HIM THEN THAT'S FINE BY ME!"

"EDWARD ELRIC," Roy shouted while bringing his fist down hard on the bedside table. "I gave you an order. I'm your superior officer and you will listen to me," he said in a stern but low and slow paced voice that scared Ed more then all the screaming in the world could. At times like this Ed remembered why everyone else under his command always did as they were told and followed his orders without question. He could be quite scary when he wanted to be, but it wasn't a side of him Ed was used to seeing. "You're being completely selfish. You're not thinking clearly. Even if you wanted to help Al you couldn't. For once in your life, why don't you just do as your told? It's usually your fault the two of you get into these types of situations in the first place!" As soon as the words were out of Roy's mouth he instantly regretted them. But unfortunately, what was said could not be unsaid.

Roy lifted his fist from the bedside table, noting with a bit of regret the dent he had made in it, and turned toward the door. He looked behind him for a moment. The look on Ed's face... was that betrayal he saw in those gold eyes? And he could have sworn he saw a hint of guilt. He couldn't be sure though, it was gone in a moment when Ed hung his head down and his golden bangs covered his face. That look was just so... broken. But that couldn't be, it just seemed so wrong. It was so... not like Ed. The kid had always been so strong, probably the strongest person Roy had ever met. He was normally so obnoxious, brash, childish, and egotistical. That look just seemed so out of place on his features. It almost... frightened Roy.

Trying to push those thoughts to the back of his mind, Roy left the bedroom and closed the door behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

Roy was so upset, he just wanted to light something on fire. He was still trying to convince himself that it was Ed that he was mad at. Him and his obnoxious, rebellious attitude and refusal to listen to orders.

_Or maybe it's yourself that you're so angry with?_

The second the thought appeared in his mind Roy froze. How could that be? He hadn't done anything wrong! He was just disciplining one of the men under his command, that was all. It was the same way he'd have reacted if it were any of his subordinates in this situation! Wouldn't he?

Roy headed downstairs heaved a sigh as he sat down on one the couch in his living room. He'd let Ed stay in the guest bedroom until he was feeling better. He'd just have to be patient and learn to wait until they were able to help his brother. The kid just had to learn to be patient! Roy didn't have time to deal with him right now, he had to get to work. He was already late, and if he didn't hurry, he was sure Hawkeye would show up soon to force him to get his ass to work at gun point.

Roy squeezed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger. It was starting to look like today would be a long and stressful one.

Once he had eaten a quick breakfast of buttered toast and jam, Roy headed out. The moment he opened the door he felt a powerful gust of chilly wind and rain. It had been raining all week. When was this bad weather going to let up? He pulled his jacket tighter around him and hastily made his way to his car.

XxXxXxXxX

Paperwork.

That's what Roy had been doing for hours, but he was barely even paying attention to what he was doing. He was just so distracted and jittery today. Why was that? Was it because of what happened last night? Was it because he was worried about Ed?

No.

He had to focus on his work.

Roy yawned and continued to scribble his signature illegibly on the paper in front of him. It would probably be a good idea to pay a little more attention to what he was doing. He hoped he didn't accidentally sign his name on a declaration of war or something.

Riza looked up from where she had been working right beside him. "Is something the matter sir? You seem a little out of it today, and there are bags under your eyes." She said it a matter-of-factly but Mustang had worked along side her long enough to tell when she was worried about him.

"I'm fine Lieutenant, I just didn't get very much sleep last night. I got woken up in the middle of the night by a certain annoying brat," he replied.

The rest of his team looked up from where they were quietly working a moment before. "Do you mean Ed?" Havoc asked around the unlit cigarette in his mouth, knowing that there was only one person the Colonel could be talking about.

"Yeah," Roy replied, placing his elbow on his desc and resting his head against his palm. "The kid's in pretty bad shape actually. Apparently, him and his brother ran into some unexpected trouble on their last mission. Al's been compromised."

"But I thought their last mission was just an investigation in the West?!" Fuery said in a surprised tone. They all looked a bit troubled by the news. "What happened to Al? Is he all right?"

"He's been captured." Roy gave a brief explanation of the situation. "I'm sure he'll be fine though, I mean, he's just a soul attached to a suit of armor. What could they possibly do to hurt him?"

"Well... they could break his blood seal." An eerie silence came over the room. After a few tense moments of staring at one another and trying to conceal their worry, everyone hesitantly went back to work. Roy went back to what he was doing too, or at least, he tried to.

After a few hours, or what seemed like hours, Roy was getting very restless. It was so quiet in the room that he could hear the ticking of the clock. It was a quiet noise, but to Roy it sounded as loud as sirens. He finally gave up on the loads of paperwork and stood. His teem looked up at the sudden change. "I'm going home early," he said as he headed for the door. No one questioned him or tried to stop him. They all knew he was going home to check on Ed.

XxXxXxXxX

Roy was teetering on the edge of speeding as he was driving back to his house. He felt uneasy and wanted to get back as soon as possible. But... why? It wasn't so strange that he was worried about Ed and wanted to check on him, was it? He was injured and Roy was worried about him. He wanted to help him. It was something that a commanding officer does for his subordinates.

_Something a father does for his sons._

The thought was so sudden and surprising to him that Roy almost crashed his car into a fire hydrant on the side of the road. "Hey! watch where you're going!" A man driving the car behind him called out. Roy didn't have the patience for this. He wanted to light that guy on fire. Light the whole street on fire. He would have considered it, if it wasn't still raining. But, since he knew that it really was his fault, he muttered an apology and kept driving.

XxXxXxXxX

As soon as Roy pulled into his drive way he hopped out of his car and headed for the door. Once inside, he closed the door behind him and made his way to the guest bedroom. He leaned against the door and couldn't hear anything.

Maybe he's asleep? Ether that or he's just giving me the cold shoulder. If he's awake he should have been able to hear me come in, Roy thought.

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Should he go in and see how he was? What if they kid didn't want to see him? Or what if he was asleep and he woke him up?

What was he saying?! This was ridiculous. He didn't come all the way back to his house in the middle of work just to sit and wait outside the door. This was his house dammit!

Roy opened the door slowly and quietly stepped inside. "Fullmetal? Are you asleep or-" He cut himself off. He had a horrible, sickening feeling when he saw what was directly in front of him. Or rather, what _wasn't _directly in front of him.

The bed was empty.


	3. Chapter 3

Roy rushed to the side of the bed and yanked the covers off just to make sure. Ed definitely wasn't there. He searched his whole house, even the basement, but there was still no sign of him.

"Goddammit! How could I have been such an idiot?!" Roy screamed at himself.

Of course Ed was going to go after his brother on his own! Of course he wouldn't listen to his superior officer's orders! Roy thought he would actually wait this time since going back there on his own would defeat the purpose of him escaping in the first place, but Roy was a fool to think so. Of course he would go on this suicide mission without thinking twice! Did the kid have no regard for his own life?!

Hurrying back downstairs, he grabbed the land line and quickly punched in the number of his office phone.

How long ago could he have left?! How long has he been gone?! Is it already too late?! Roy thought with an increasing sense of dread.

The phone couldn't have been ringing for that long, but to Roy it felt like an eternity. "Hello?" At last, the voice of his First Lieutenant on the other side. He explained what was going on as quickly as he could and ordered her to get the rest of the team ready to move out.

/back to the present/

That's how it happened. It had taken over five hours of traveling just to get here. Roy only prayed they weren't too late.

He was now standing right outside the old, beaten, sliding doors that lead into the warehouse. The paint was so old and corroded that it was impossible to tell what the color used to be. The doors were also covered with rust, as was the rest of the building.

It was completely silent, which surprised Roy. He was expecting to hear the sound of fighting and the high whine of alchemy when they finally arrived. But there was only dead silence. Fearing the worst, he cautiously slid open one of the large doors and stepped inside.

What he saw nearly made his heart stop.

There were bodies lying limp all over the ground. They all looked to be dead at first glance, but upon further inspection, you could see their shallow breathing indicating that they were all just unconscious. Most of them were in lab coats and seemed to be the scientists that had captured Ed and Al previously.

There was blood everywhere.

In the center of the warehouse's interior there was a boy Roy had never seen before. He had long, dark blonde hair that went down past the middle of his back. He was completely naked, very pale, and the outline of his bones was visible because of how thin he was. He was turned away from the soldiers, but from what Roy could see, he appeared to be holding something in his arms. His body was visibly shaking, and it sounded like he was crying.

Roy took a cautious step forward. "Excuse me, kid? What are you doing here and what-" He stopped when the boy turned to face him. He bared an undeniable resemblance to Ed. Even his eyes, though they were a shade darker than Ed's. Ed's were a brilliant golden color, where as this boy's eyes were a darker amber color. But the first thing about his eyes that he noticed were the tears streaming from them and down his face. "A-Alphonse?!" he stuttered.

"Colonel!" That voice was definitely Al's. "Please, you have to help! Brother's hurt bad!" he said with an edge of urgency to his voice. Roy and the rest of his team hurried to the boy's side and took a look at what he was holding. He heard gasps of horror coming from behind him, and Roy's eyes opened wide at the sight.

It was Ed. He wasn't moving, and he was completely covered in blood. His cloths were in tatters, and blood was still oozing from multiple wounds on his body. That was just what Roy could see. His automail arm was still missing from before, and now his leg was gone as well. His previously elegant, golden hair had come undone from it's braid and was now caked with the red liquid, and even more dripped from his mouth. His eyes were open, but had a glassy look to them. He was unresponsive. It seemed as if he didn't even realize they were there, or what was happening.

Roy quickly took the crippled blonde from his brother's arms and pressed his ear to his chest. His heart beat was getting fainter and fainter. "Fullmetal?! Ed, can you hear me?!" Roy frantically begged for a response. After a few dreadfully long moments, he blinked and turned his gaze toward Roy.

"Mu...st...ang?" he asked in a voice that was barely a whisper.

"Yes, Ed, I'm here. Don't worry you're going to be fine. I'm getting you to a hospital." Roy was doing his best to keep his voice calm. He clenched his hands into fists to stop them from shaking.

"Did... it... did Al... did it work?" Roy figured that he was trying to ask if his brother had gotten his body back. "Yes. You did a great job Fullmetal." Roy noticed Havoc take off his jacket and drape it over Al's shoulders out of the corner of his eye. He almost missed the small gesture though, with his full attention on Ed.

"Good... I'm... glad..." Ed's eyes started to close.

"Ed! You need to keep your eyes open!" Mustang said quickly, worrying that Ed's life could slip away at any moment. His skin felt awfully cold and he was very pale.

"But... I'm so... tired..."

"Ed please! You can't die! You can't fucking die on me now dammit! I won't let you!" Roy insisted with the beginnings of hysteria creeping into his voice. He picked the boy up quickly, but carefully, and called to his team to help Al up. They had parked just outside of the town. There might have been a hospital somewhere in town but Roy remembered what he saw from earlier. All the houses seemed empty and there wasn't a single soul to be seen. Roy had a sickening feeling that there really was no one left in the town, and if he was right, he had a pretty good idea what had happened to them. The thought chilled him to the bone.

The moment they reached the car, Hawkeye got into the driver seat and started it. Mustang didn't even need to give the Lieutenant her orders. She knew what she had to do. She always did. Roy got into the back seat with Ed still in his arms while Havoc got into the passenger seat up front with Al sitting on his lap. Once the rest of the team got into the other car, they were off.

They didn't have enough time to get him to a hospital in central, so they were just going to have to head to the next town over, and hope for the best. Thankfully, it was only about a 10 minute drive. The kid didn't have a single second to spare in his condition.

Al looked back from where he was in the front seat to take a look at his older brother. Roy could see so much pain in his amber eyes, so much worry. His face was filled with an impossible amount of raw emotion. It seemed as if all of his emotion had built up during the time he was in the suit of armor. Now that he finally had his body back, he couldn't keep them from showing on his frail features.

XxXxXxXxX

Roy was beyond relieved when they spotted a hospital in the next town. Hawkeye skidded to a stop in the parking lot and Roy hurried inside carrying his delicate cargo with the others following quickly behind him.

He talked to the first nurse he saw when he ran in. She was a pretty young lady with short-cut brown hair and dark blue eyes. Roy had no time to flirt now though. As soon as the nurse saw Ed in Roy's arms she hurried away to get a doctor. A few medical personnel came by a few moments later with a stretcher and Roy let them take Ed from him.

They were all standing there unmoving for quite a while until a different nurse came up to them. She was a bit older than the last with long ginger hair tied up in a ponytail and green eyes. "We're looking over the boy you just brought in and we'll do our best to help him. I think it would be best if you let me take him too," she said, gesturing toward Al. "He doesn't look too good. What on earth happened to these boys?"

"That's classified," Roy replied, his voice sounding a bit snippy. The nurse seemed annoyed and unsatisfied with the answer, but she didn't press.

"Very well. Now, come with me." She held a hand out for Al to take, and escorted him down the hallway while supporting his back with her other hand. He still had Havoc's jacket wrapped protectively around his naked body.

XxXxXxXxX

Waiting felt like one of the hardest things Roy Mustang ever had to do. Him and his team had been escorted to a waiting room by another nurse, and they had been there for two and a half hours. He had told the rest of the team to head home, get a head start on the five hour drive. They were reluctant to leave, but once Roy made it an order, they left. Leaving Roy and Hawkeye to look after the boys.

While they were waiting, Roy made a few phone calls and got some men sent to the warehouse to arrest the scientists, and tend to their wounds. Even though he still had barely any knowledge of what happened, he had a feeling it had been Fullmetal's doing. Leave it to Ed to manage to beat the crap out of that many full grown men all on his own without killing a single one.

Glancing around the room, Roy could see all the other people waiting for news about their sick or injured loved ones. Their faces all looked so melancholic and hopeless. That was probably how Roy's face looked now too.

Everyone looked up when a doctor entered the room. "Colonel Mustang?" He asked, looking around the many faces in the room.

"That's me," he replied.

The doctor looked down at a chart in his hands. "You admitted two boys named Edward and Alphonse Elric, correct?" He looked up.

"Yes."

"You may see them now. My name is Dr. Raymond, please follow me." He turned and headed back out with Roy and Riza following close behind. "They're resting in separate rooms right now so I'll take you each of them individually."

After walking down another hall and turning a corner, they came to a white door, which looked the same as all the others. Dr. Raymond opened it and stepped inside. It was your typical small hospital room with a bed in the corner, and lying on the bed was Al. He was hooked up to a few machines with an IV in his hand and tubes and wires attached to his body.

"He's terribly malnourished, but he seems stable and should be fine. We think it would be best to keep him here for a few weeks to get his strength back. As he is now, he isn't even able to stand without difficulty." His voice was so emotionless and it sounded like he was just reading off a list rather than explaining the medical condition of a human being. It irked Roy, but he kept his feelings to himself.

He's just doing his job. He must have to deal with these sorts of things every day, I guess I can't expect him to show that much emotion for just one of his patients. But still, that doesn't mean I have to like it, he thought.

"We've lightly sedated him but you should still be able to talk for a little while."

"Colonel?" The boy asked drowsily.

"How are you feeling Al?" The kid didn't look too bad, just pale, and very skinny. He just needed to gain back all the weight he lost while his soul was detached from his body.

"Still pretty weak... and... tired... but I'm okay," he replied with a gentle smile.

"I'm glad to hear that, are you happy to finally be back in your body?" Besides how worried he was about Ed, who he had yet to visit, he was glad Al was back in his body. Finally, it seemed that the goal the two boys had worked so hard to reach for all these years was theirs at last.

"I'm very happy! I can finally feel again. I don't feel detached anymore, I feel like I'm finally part of the world again!" Roy gave a small smile. It was nice to see the kid so happy, even after all he and his brother had been through. "But what about brother? Is he alright?" Al's tone became more cautious and serious as worry for his brother crept back into his mind.

"I don't know, I haven't seen him yet. But don't worry, I'm sure he's fine," Roy reassured him. The kid seemed satisfied with the response, trusting that the Colonel wouldn't lie to him. He leaned his head back and his eyes closed. The room became silent, besides the sound of Al snoring softly.

Dr. Raymond turned toward Roy, "Are you ready to visit the other boy?" He looked down at his chart again. "Edward Elric?"

Roy took in a shaky breath and tried to calm his nerves. "Yes, let's go."


	4. Chapter 4

Dr. Raymond led Roy and Riza down another hallway and toward the room Ed was taken to. He felt a growing sense of dread deep in his stomach. His footsteps were rushed, and he'd already run into the doctor several times, who, much to Roy's dismay, was walking slowly and casually. He wanted to see Ed as soon as possible to make sure that he was alright. But at the same time, he was afraid of what he might find.

Ed had looked so near death when they found him and Alphonse in that warehouse. What if he didn't make it?! No, they would have told him that. This doctor was taking them to his room, so he must be okay. Right? Roy would never be able to forgive himself if anything happened to the kid. It was all his fault that this happened. If only he hadn't been such an idiot...

Riza, as if sensing his unease, placed a hand on his shoulder. She didn't need to say a word. Her eyes said it all. She was worried too, but her face remained as calm and serious as always. Anyone else would have thought she wasn't the least bit worried, but Roy had known her for long enough that he could tell what she was feeling. Even so, she stayed strong. If only Roy possessed the kind of strength she had. "You're always the strong one out of the two of us, huh?" he whispered as they walked.

Riza's features softened a bit. "Someone has to be there to look after you, sir," she replied. Roy wondered if she had anyone to be strong for her when she needed reassurance.

Finally, after they had walked down what seemed to Roy as the longest hallway in history, they arrived at another white door identical to the rest. Raymond turned the handle and stepped inside with Roy right on his heels, and Riza following close behind.

The room was identical to the one Al was resting in. Small, with one window, and a bed in the corner. Hesitantly, Roy turned his head to look at the boy lying unconscious on the bed.

He looked awful. His skin was very pale and had a grayish tint to it. Sweat covered his forehead and his long blonde hair was a mess with damp, stray strands stuck to his face and neck. His eyes were closed, but his features were contorted in what must have been either pain or due to a nightmare he was having. His breathing was labored and uneven.

He was wearing hospital issued cloths but Roy could see the bandages peaking out from behind his shirt which went almost up to his neck. There were also bandages around his head and in multiple other areas like his arm which seemed to be very scratched up, and there was an IV in his hand.

There was a heart monitor hooked up to Ed. It seemed to be beeping normally for the most part, but the rhythm was faint and there was a bit more time between each beep then there should have been.

Roy cautiously turned toward the doctor and asked the question both him and the Lieutenant were anxious to hear the answer to. "Is he going to be alright?"

Raymond looked down at his chart. "He's unconscious and hasn't woken up once in the time he's been here. He has some severe injuries, the worst one being a stab wound in his chest. Quite a few of his injuries are infected, and he has a high fever."

Roy listened intently to every word. His worry was written clearly across his face.

The doctor paused for a moment before continuing with his answer to Roy's previous question. "He's lost quite a bit of blood and his pulse is weak. He may not make it."

Roy's blood ran cold. There was a chance the kid was going to die?! Is that what he just said?! "What do you mean he might not make it?!" Roy demanded.

"Sir, please calm down," Riza warned.

Raymond looked unfazed by Roy's change in demeanor. "It may be hard to accept, but there's a good chance that he won't live through this. I'd say the chances of a successful recovery are about 20%. Most of it depends on whether or not he'll be able to regain consciousness. It's also possible that he may never wake up."

The way the doctor spoke made Roy fume. He spoke like it didn't even matter if Ed died, that it wasn't even something to get upset over. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to snap his fingers and light the place on fire. But he restrained himself, knowing that it would put Ed and Al in danger.

Roy took a moment to compose himself. "If that's the case, you'd better do every damn thing possible to make sure he doesn't die," he said in a deep, dangerous voice.

The doctor looked a bit unsettled by the unspoken threat, but he quickly recovered. "Of course. I have other patients to attend to, but you may stay as long as you like. Just make sure to keep quiet," he replied before slipping out of the room.

Roy grabbed a chair from the other side of the room and sat down next to the bed which housed Ed's sleeping form. He looked so small and fragile. Roy reached out a hand and gently picked up and held Ed's small, pale one in his own. He worried that if he wasn't very gentle, the poor boy might break and shatter into a million pieces. Riza pulled up another chair and sat beside him, her expression solemn.

"Please, Ed… please, just wake up…"

XxXxXxXxX

Ed suddenly found himself somewhere dark and strange. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember what happened before he got here. He was somehow standing, even though he couldn't see anything beneath him to stand on. He strained his eyes, but no matter where he looked, all he could see was blackness.

He thought he could hear muffled voices coming from somewhere, but they were too hard to make out. He felt dizzy and his head felt like it was full of cotton balls. His eyes were blurred, and no matter how much he rubbed them, he still couldn't see clearly. The worst thing was, he had a horrible feeling deep in his gut. A feeling of dread, of worry that someone dear to him was in danger. But, who was it...

Ed turned suddenly when he noticed his brother standing right behind him, clad in the suit of armor his soul was bonded to. Although, Ed didn't remember him being there a few seconds ago. "Al! There you are!" he called out to his brother. Was Al the one he was fearful for? It must be! But it was okay, he was here! And he was safe! Ed had no reason to worry anymore!

That's when Al's armor shattered into a million pieces.

"AL!" Ed screamed in agony. He rushed to his brother's side and dug through the pieces to find his blood seal. This can't be happening… this can't be happening! Al… there's no way he's gone! He has to still be alive!

Ed noticed another presence and looked up. Standing right above him was the homunculus, Lust. She held one arm under her chest and the other elevated out to her side. Two of her fingers were elongated and she had a mischievous grin on her face. Ed's face contorted in horror when he recognized the scrap of metal that held his little brother's blood seal she had stabbed with the tips of her two fingers. Her full, red lips parted as dark laughter escaped her chest. Her fingers parted, slicing the blood seal in two.

Ed screamed and slammed his fists down on the remains of his brother's armor as tears welled up in his eyes.

Ed screamed and screamed until his throat was sore. He finally opened his eyes, to find the shattered scraps of metal no longer beneath him, and Lust had disappeared. He looked up to find himself surrounded by familiar faces. Al and Winry were there, along with granny Pinako and all his co-workers in the military. Havoc, Fuery, Breda, Falman, Hawkeye… even the Colonel Bastard.

Edward smiled up at them. It was all the people he cared about, safe and right here with him. It gave him a sense of calm and contentment.

At least, that's how he felt before he watched them all crumble to the ground. Ed stared in shock and horror as pools of blood gathered beneath each of them, including Al, who was in his human body. He didn't see where the blood was coming from and didn't have any idea what had happened. All he knew was that he could clearly see the vacant look in their eyes proving to him that they were indeed gone. The blood was also an indication of course, and there was a lot of it.

Ed screamed in complete and utter agony. The blood continued to expand from the bodies and merged into one large pool surrounding him. This isn't right… there couldn't possibly be this much blood… could there?! There was now more blood around him then all the bodies could have possibly carried, and it was still growing rapidly. Now it lapped at his feet. Ed jumped and tried to get away but there was no where to run. He was completely surrounded by the red liquid. It was now rising up past his knees. "Please! Won't somebody help me?! Anyone?! Please!"

Despite Ed's desperate struggling, the blood continued to rise. It was now up to his chest. It felt thick, warm, and sticky. He wanted nothing more than to get out of the horrible red liquid. It now lapped at his chin.

He could faintly hear the sounds of all his loved ones crying out in pain and sorrow from somewhere out of his reach. Ed opened his mouth to call out to them, but instead his mouth filled with blood. It was now up to his nose. He tried to scream, but all he managed was a hysteric coughing and choking fit. Don't hurt them! Whoever you are, don't hurt any of them! Please! He thought, begging for a reply. He got none.

He tried to look for them through the now vast ocean of blood, but it was now seeping into his eyes and clouding his vision. Where are you?! Al! Winry! Mustang! Someone, anyone! Only silence reached his blood soaked ears.

It had become very clear to Ed that he was drowning. He was going to die. He was going to drown in the blood of his friends and family. His mind went blank and the only thing he felt was sheer terror as he began to choke and fight against the thick, dark liquid. He was losing the fight. His lungs screamed for air and his eyes stung. All he could see was red. He flailed his arms around and kicked with all his might, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't reach the surface.

XxXxXxXxX

"Sir, you really need to get some sleep," Riza insisted for what must have been the tenth time now. Roy had stayed by Ed's bedside and refused to leave. It was now 9:00 pm and he was still in the same spot he was in when he first sat down at about 3:00 am. The past six hours had consisted of him sitting, restlessly, walking around the hospital room, staring out the window, and then sitting again. He was reluctant to leave Ed like this, but the thought of sleep was definitely a pleasant one. He had stayed up all night with everything that happened, and he barely got any sleep the night before either, due to Ed showing up at his doorstep the first time. Roy had been awake for over 30 hours straight, and he was definitely feeling it. He was exhausted and had dark rings under his eyes. Maybe Riza's right, but still, to leave Ed like this...

When she got no response, Riza released the safety on one of the pistols holstered around her waist. "Now, sir," she said with a stern expression. Roy took one last look at Ed's sleeping body before getting up from his seat. He knew better than to make Riza angry, unless he wanted a bullet through his head. She made a start for the door and Roy followed her. "I've already reserved two rooms for us at a hotel nearby. We'll need to head back to Central as soon as Ed and Al are well enough for travel, and once we get there, there will be a lot of paperwork to fill out after what happened tonight," she told him. Roy could tell from the tone of her voice that she'd make sure he got it done in a timely fashion.

Roy sighed and muttered under his breath, "I hate paperwork."

XxXxXxXxX

About a week had gone by and Roy was on his way back to the hospital to visit Ed. He'd visited him several times over the past few days, but he hadn't gotten any better. At least Roy had managed to get a decent amount of sleep lately, despite restlessly worrying about those two boys, especially Ed.

Once he was inside, he came to the front counter to see a pretty young nurse sitting behind it. "I'm here to visit Edward and Alphonse Elric," he told her. She looked up at him and stared for a moment, before blushing. She quickly looked back down at the computer right beside her and told him he could go in.

No matter where he went, there were always women who fell for his dashing good looks. It was why he was known as such a womanizer. Well, one of the reasons anyway. But even though he went on so many dates, he wasn't really interested in finding a partner. He enjoyed going out with lots of women, but in all honesty, he didn't see the need for a partner in his life. His family was his colleagues, and the Elric brothers, and he was content with that.

Maes Hughes had always insisted that he get a wife. His best friend was certainly persistent, and quite annoying most of the time. He understood why Maes wanted him to settle down with someone though. After all, his family was the best thing to ever happen to him. Roy was happy for his friend, albeit annoyed by him always shoving pictures of his wife and daughter in his face, but in the end, Roy still thought it unnecessary for himself.

It didn't take too long to get to Ed's room this time, now that he knew where it was. Along the way, he had peaked into Alphonse's room to see how he was doing. He found him to be fast asleep, and decided to head to Ed's room instead. Al had been doing a lot better. He was gradually gaining his strength back and becoming more used to all the new sensations of having his body back. He would even be able to keep down solid food soon. He would most likely need to stay another few weeks, if not a month, but at least there was improvement, which is more than he could say for Ed. Roy still hadn't told Alphonse anything about Ed's predicament, and how there was a chance that his brother could die. He figured it would only upset him, and it might affect his recovery. He felt a bit guilty about it, but figured it was for the best.

Roy continued down the hall that would lead him to Ed's room. Once he arrived at the right door, he turned the handle and stepped inside.

Ed was right where he had been the day before, and it didn't seem like anything had changed. That hopefully meant he wasn't any worse, but it also meant he wasn't any better.

Roy sat down at the side of the bed again and watched the gentle rise and fall of the boy's chest. He looked peaceful, maybe even a little better than he had the first night he was brought here. But still asleep. Roy found himself thinking about the chances of Ed's recovery the doctor had given them a week ago. What was it… 20%?

After a while, Roy sighed and looked down at his hands. Please wake up… please Ed… He looked up suddenly when he heard a small whine. "Ed?" he asked hopefully, but Ed's eyes were still closed. His face was contorted now, and he was thrashing back and forth. He's probably having a nightmare, Roy thought.

Roy was hoping it would only last a little while, but when about ten minutes had gone by and Ed continued to thrash around and make pained sounds similar to those of a frightened animal, Roy became worried. "Ed? Ed! Wake up!" Roy figured it would be a wasted effort, and like he anticipated, Ed still didn't wake up.

A few more minutes went by and Roy was getting more and more worried. Sweat dripped down the blonde's forehead and his single hand clawed at the bed sheets. Roy lowered his face into his hands as hopelessness overtook him. He couldn't wake him up or do anything to help him. It was as if he wasn't even there. He considered leaving to find the doctor, but then he heard a small gasp. He looked up quickly to find two wide golden eyes staring back at him.

"Mustang?" Ed rasped.

Roy felt relief wash over him. "Ed… you're alright."

The blonde looked around the room for a while and finally seemed to realize where he was. "The hospital?" It took him another few moments to remember what had gotten him here. "Al! Where's Al?!"

"Calm down Fullmetal, your brother's fine. He's resting in another room," Roy reassured him. He kept his voice firm, but it had a certain gentleness to it.

"So then… he has his body back?" Ed asked.

Roy recalled a similar exchange between them when him and his team had first found Ed in that warehouse. Perhaps his mind was too groggy from loss of blood to remember.

"Yes Ed, he does. Which reminds me, I'll be needing a full report on what happened, but that can wait until you're feeling better." Ed nodded in acknowledgement and then went back to staring at the ceiling. He seemed a bit… off to Roy. Distant, as if he was thinking hard about something, disoriented, and very shaken up. It was probably because of the shock of everything that happened a week ago, but could it have had anything to do with Ed's nightmare?

"Are you okay, Shrimp?"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A RUNT SO TINY HE COULD ONLY BE SEEN WITH A MAGNIFYING GLASS, YOU JERK?!"

Roy laughed and grinned broadly at his reaction.

"WIPE THAT SMIRK OFF YOUR FACE, BASTARD COLONEL!"

It was good to see the fire return to the boy's eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

Roy Mustang was in his office filling out paperwork three days after Ed and Al had been moved from that small, Western town to a hospital in Central. Roy believed it was the right decision. They could get better care here in Central, and Roy couldn't afford to miss any more days of work. Besides, ever since Ed woke up he had been getting a lot better. Al's health had been continuing to improve as well. If things kept going the way they were, the boys would be out of the hospital in no time.

Roy looked up at the clock to see it was around noon, and about time for lunch. Lunch would be nice, especially since he welcomed any excuse to take a break from his workload with open arms. He finished writing his signature on a few more documents and was about to get up when he heard a knock at the door.

"Come in," he said. The door opened and Riza stepped in holding a phone.

"There's a call for you, sir. It's from the hospital," she informed him in a grim tone. Roy's heart skipped a beat. Could there be something wrong with the boys?

Roy accepted the phone from the Lieutenant's extended hand and held it to his ear. "Colonel Roy Mustang speaking."

"Colonel, this is Dr. Grant. I'm afraid Mr. Elric's condition has worsened considerably overnight. Please come down to the hospital immediately." His voice was calm and business-like, but held a trace of sympathy. Dr. Grant was a much better doctor than Dr. Raymond had been in Roy's opinion. He kept the purely business-like relationship between patient and doctor in mind, but he cared more for his patients.

"What happened?" Roy asked after a moment pause.

"I'll discuss everything with you in greater detail as soon as you get here," he said before hanging up.

Roy held still for a few minutes, just listening to the beeping of the phone. He took a deep breath and stood up, handing the phone back to Hawkeye. She gave him a questioning look, as if asking what was going on, but he was sure she knew just as much as he did about what that phone call was about.

"I'm leaving, I'll be back later," he said as he pulled on his jacket. It was very cloudy today and the wind was blowing, making the weather outside pretty cold.

"I'll come with you, sir," she said.

"No. I'll be fine on my own, Lieutenant," he decided. Hawkeye nodded in acknowledgment and didn't protest.

Roy walked quickly out the door and through the main office. Havoc looked up as he walked by. "Where are you headed in such a hurry, Boss?" he asked.

Breda and Fuery looked up at the disturbance. Roy kept walking without giving him an answer, leaving his confused subordinates staring after him as he made his way out the door.

Roy began heading toward the hospital once he'd left the military compound. The walk there was brisk and short. Once he arrived, he checked in at the front desk and found Dr. Grant waiting for him in the hall.

He was a bit short for his age and looked to be in his early 30s. He had short, raven black hair much like Roy's, and rectangular shaped glasses resting on the bridge of his nose.

"Ah, there you are," he said, noting Roy's quick arrival. "Come with me." He turned and gestured for Roy to follow him. He led him back the way he had come, most likely from Ed's room. Once they arrived, Roy could clearly see something was wrong, even if he didn't know exactly what.

Ed looked much worse than he had the last time Roy had visited him. He was covered in sweat and his eyes were red-rimmed. His breathing came fast and ragged, and his body was shaking slightly.

Roy turned toward the doctor. "What happened?!"

"His fever has gotten much worse and he's been fading in and out of consciousness since this morning. I've also been seeing some new symptoms he didn't have until now." The doctor stopped for a moment to allow Roy to digest this new information.

"What does it mean?" Roy asked after a brief pause.

"I have diagnosed that his body has been infected with some sort of toxic chemical. To put it simply, he has blood poisoning. The infection has spread quite a bit over the time he's been here, and it seems to originate from the wound in his chest. I wish I could have caught it sooner, but I was not informed of the possibility of there being a life threatening toxin in his system."

"How could you have missed that?! You should have checked for everything!" Roy yelled.

"Please keep your voice down, there are patients asleep in the rooms next to this one. I'm afraid it would be more or less_impossible_ to check for _everything_, Colonel."

Roy opened his mouth to say something else, but then closed it when no snarky comment came to mind. Instead, he apologized and insisted that the doctor continue.

"You don't need to worry, there's still a possibility for a full recovery," Grant assured. "If we can figure out what the toxin is that's causing this, it shouldn't be too difficult to cure."

"That's good. But… how will we figure out what the toxin is?" Roy asked, his voice uncertain.

Grant readjusted his glasses with his middle and index fingers before answering. "I don't know. I examined the wound and took samples of his blood, but whatever the toxin is, it's unfamiliar to me. Maybe if I had a large enough sample of the original toxin used I could find a way to save him. Do you still have the weapon that caused the wound in Mr. Elric's chest?"

"No, we didn't take anything with us other than the boys when we arrived back in Central. Investigators should still be examining the evidence at the crime scene, but there were a lot of weapons littered all over the place in that warehouse. I wouldn't even know where to begin to figure out which one was used to stab Edward," Roy said in a grim tone.

"That will be quite a problem," Grant admitted. "Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like we have any other options. Maybe you can ask Mr. Elric? He might remember what the weapon looked like." Roy nodded and made his way to the bed Ed was lying on. He was awake, but he didn't seem very aware of his surroundings.

"Fullmetal, can you hear me?" There was no response. Roy waited a few more minutes, but Ed still didn't make any move to acknowledge that he knew he was being spoken to. Roy decided to try again. "Full-"

"I hear you," Ed said suddenly, his voice weak and small. Roy was a bit taken off guard, but recovered quickly.

"Ed, do you remember what weapon gave you that wound in your chest? Do you remember what it looked like?" Roy asked.

Ed just stared at him for a while, looking confused. "Weapon… wound… did I… get hurt?" he asked vacantly.

"Ed… what do you mean? You must remember what happened, don't you?" Roy asked slowly.

"Remember… what happened… I can't…" Ed trailed off. Rather than continuing, he turned his head away and began staring at the ceiling as if he'd forgotten he was talking to Mustang. Roy was about to try asking again, when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"He must be delirious from the infection. I don't think you'll be able to get any useful information out of him like this," Grant said softly.

"You're probably right…" Roy agreed. "But then, what will we do? There has to be some other option…" Roy tried his hardest to think of something he could do. The doctor's expression was grim, which told Roy he didn't have any ideas either. After a few minutes of standing in silence, Roy got an idea. "I could ask Alphonse!" he exclaimed.

Grant looked hopeful. "That's right, the two boys were together when the incident occurred, correct?"

"Yes, that's right," Roy confirmed.

"That's good. Our problem may be solved," Grant said nodding in approval. "Alphonse is able to think quite clearly since the only reason he's in the hospital is because he's malnourished. He should be awake, so we can head over to his room now. You should be able to get your answers from him if he saw what happened to his brother."

"Alright, I'll go ask him," Roy announced as he headed out the door with Grand following him. Once in the hall, they didn't have to walk far to get to Al's room. It was just around the corner from the hallway Ed's room was in.

Once they reached the door, they stepped inside to see Al lying in bed with his back propped up with a pillow. He looked less pale now and not as thin, but you could still clearly see the outline of his cheekbones and his eyes looked tired. It wasn't very noticeable though, not over the sweet smile the boy wore. It created the illusion that he was completely fine, but he still wasn't well enough to leave the hospital.

"Hello," Roy greeted him. They exchanged a few words, and Al told them he was feeling a lot better. Once that was out of the way, Roy got down to business. "Alphonse, can I ask you a few questions about what happened to you and Fullmetal?" he asked.

"Of course," he replied with a nod. "What do you want to know?"

"Did you see the weapon Fullmetal was stabbed with and what it looked like?" Roy asked, "That's the main thing I want to know, but since I'll need a full report on this eventually anyway, why don't you explain everything to me from the beginning?" he suggested.

Maybe if Roy and the doctor knew a little more about the situation and what happened to the boys, it would be easier to make sure Ed made a full recovery. Even though Roy had a pretty good idea of what happened and what the scientists were doing, there were still a lot of things that were a mystery to him. Like for example, how Alphonse got his body back in the first place.

"Okay, I'll tell you everything I know," he agreed. "But first, can you tell me why you need my report now? I thought you were going to wait until Brother and I got out of the hospital?" Al's brows furrowed in confusion.

Roy froze. He didn't want to tell Al the truth, it would only worry him. But it wasn't like he could just lie to the kid about something this important.

"Well, the reason is because… there seems to have been some sort of toxic chemical on the weapon that was used on Edward. We need to find the weapon to figure out what the toxin is. We need to find it as soon as possible, or…" Roy paused and bit his lip. "Edward could die."

Al's eyes widened as the Colonel's words sunk in. His expression was a mixture of horror and disbelief which quickly turned into fear and worry for his brother.

"Okay, I understand," he said in a quiet, shaky voice. "I'll tell you everything that happened as quickly as I can."

XxXxXxXxX

Alphonse was basically scrap metal with three of his limbs shredded to bits. At least with his body being nothing more than an empty metal shell, he didn't feel any pain. Unlike when they were poking and prodding at his blood seal. Now that hurt.

It had been about twelve hours since Ed had escaped. Ed told him he'd go get help and come back for him, but Al was worried about what he meant by that. His brother was impulsive and hot headed. Sometimes, when faced with a tough situation, that caused his decisions to be rash and illogical.

After a few more hours of lying there, unable to do anything, there was a loud crash. Someone had come crashing through one of the old, cracked windows of the warehouse. Al didn't even have to look up to know it was his brother.

Ed got up off the ground where he'd fallen after crashing through the window, shattered shards of glass scattered all around him. He had a few small cuts from the glass and he was panting heavily.

_That idiot! What is he doing back here so soon?! His wounds haven't even healed yet! Why didn't he go report this to the military and get some help or something?!_ Al thought.

Ed tried his best to compose himself and his eyes scanned the room, taking notice of the large transmutation circle drawn on the ground, as well as the splatters of blood. He got into a defensive stance as the scientists in the warehouse started to close in on him.

"On my way here I noticed the town was empty," Ed said, his voice laced with malice. "Every single person who lived here couldn't have disappeared just like that. You did it, didn't you?! You bastards! You used them as ingredients for a philosopher stone!"

One of the scientists, an older one with grey hair, stepped forward. He could have been the head scientist, but neither Ed nor Al knew for sure. "So you figured it out. Didn't you, little alchemist?" Ed's single hand clenched into a fist and he shook with anger.

"Don't call me little!" he growled through his teeth.

The man smiled at his reaction. "No matter, there's nothing you can do about it now anyway." He pulled a small red stone from his pocket and let it rest in the palm of his hand. "Now that we've created a complete philosopher stone, the human sacrifices used to create it can never be returned back to the way they were before. You of all people should know that."

Ed glared at him with all the hatred in the world. "Yes, I know that," he said slowly, his voice low. "But that won't stop me from getting pissed at the people responsible!" Al was sure that if looks could kill, all the scientists facing Ed would be dead by now.

Ed ran toward the grey-haired scientist and punched him in the face with his flesh hand. It wasn't as effective as a punch with his automail fist would have been, but he was still missing his artificial appendage.

The scientist held a hand over the cheek Ed had punched and jumped out of the way of his next blow. The other scientists joined in on the fight as well, and before long, everyone was fighting. All Al could do was sit there and watch. He couldn't see very well from his position on the floor, and in the crowd of people fighting, it was hard to make out what was happening. He lost sight of Ed in the chaos and wished desperately that his armor wasn't broken so he could do something to help.

After a while, most of the scientists were out cold on the floor and Ed was still fighting. Al was worried about his brother fighting in his condition. He was missing an arm and he still had his wounds from before. Although, Ed was doing pretty well for someone in his condition. _That's Brother for you, always such a show off_, he thought, smiling inwardly.

Out of the corner of his eye, Al saw Ed rushing toward him. He became worried again when he caught sight of his brother's new wounds. It seemed that some of the scientists had pulled out weapons during the fight, and Ed had nothing to use to defend himself. He was also hopping on one foot, and Al didn't even want to imagine how he'd managed to lose his automail leg as well.

Al could see that Ed had his automail arm tucked under his left arm as securely as he could manage. Al had no idea how, but somehow, in the midst of the fight, his brother had managed to find where they'd stashed his arm and gotten a hold of it. With one quick motion, he snapped it back into place in his shoulder port, wincing at the sudden pain. It was severely damaged, but still functional.

That's when Al realized what Ed had tightly grasped in his flesh hand.

"Al!" he called out, holding up the brilliant crimson stone. "I've got an idea!" As soon as the few remaining scientists realized he had the stone, they began hurrying after Ed in order to take it back. They weren't able to get to him in time, though, because it didn't take Ed long to draw the complicated array. He remembered it vividly from that night.

With Al and the stone in the center of the array, Ed clapped and quickly slammed his hands down on the edge of the transmutation circle.

"Brother… are you… wait! What about the people that had to be sacrificed to create that stone?!" Al asked as light erupted from the array and surrounded them.

"You know as well as I do that there's nothing we could do to save them," he replied in a somber and quiet voice. "Human souls trapped in a philosopher stone can't do anything but suffer for eternity. By doing this, we'll be putting them out of their misery."

Al realized that Ed was right. They had been searching for the legendary red stone ever since they lost their bodies and joined the military. When they found out the main ingredient for a stone, countless human sacrifices, they had felt completely hopeless. They could never create their own stone, of that they were sure. But Al decided he didn't feel so bad about using one someone else had created. After all, there was nothing they could have done to stop them. And like Ed said, there was no way to save those people now that they were like this.

The light grew brighter and brighter until it was almost impossible to look at. In a split second, the dazzling white light became a dark and ominous light. It gave Al the same horrible gut feeling it had on that night, and he didn't even have the capacity to feel in this cold, metal shell of a body. He might not be able to feel physically, but he could still feel emotionally. And right now, all his inner senses were screaming at him to get away from the transmutation.

He ignored it.

Then, just like he had on that night, Al lost consciousness.


	6. Chapter 6

Al was surrounded by darkness. He was like that for a very long time, or maybe it had been mere seconds, he wasn't sure. Regardless of how long he was under, after a little while, he heard something. It sounded muffled and far away, and for a while, he couldn't make it out. Slowly, as he began to fade back into consciousness, the voice became clearer. It was his brother's voice, and he was calling Al's name.

"…n you hear me?"

As the voice became clearer, it became more troubling to Al. Where was he? What happened? Where was Ed? He racked his brain for the answers, but came up blank. The recent past was nothing but a messy blur to him. He didn't even know where he was, and the only hint to his location was the old, damp, musty scent in the air, and the unsettling, strong scent of blood.

"A..onse…"

That's right, he was in the old warehouse that he was held captive in. He remembered Ed showing up to save him, he remembered the glow of the transmutation, but what had happened after that?

"...ay som… ing..."

He could smell the musty, old warehouse.

He could _smell_ it.

_He could smell._

"AL!"

"Ah!" Al squeaked as his eyes flew open. It took him a minute to adjust to all the sudden sensations after being isolated from them for so many years. Once his head was no longer spinning, he felt strong arms holding him tightly, and looked up to see his brother's concerned face. Amber eyes met gold, and both filled with tears.

"Brother…" Al choked out, his voice weak from years of not being used. He reached up and wrapped his arms around big brother as if he were his life line. And, he supposed, that was close enough to the truth.

Al had missed his brother's sent, a scent that made him feel safe and secure, especially now. He'd also missed the soft texture of his hair, which cascaded down Ed's shoulders and gently brushed against Al's cheeks as he held him. He must have lost his hair tie at some point, either before or after Al had blacked out, he couldn't remember. And although he couldn't hold on very tightly in this weak form, he clung to Ed with as much strength as he could manage, never wanting to let go.

The corners of Ed's mouth twitched up in a cautious smile as he looked down at his little brother's frail form. He'd done it. He kept his promise. Al was finally back to normal. Everything the two of them had gone through, all the pain, loss, and sorrow, hadn't been in vain after all.

The two were so immersed in the moment, they almost didn't notice one of the bodies lying on the ground behind them stirring. Ed's head quickly snapped around before the scientist in question could get any closer. Al, noticing the change in mood, strained his neck to look in the same direction as his brother.

He was a young man with spiky brown hair that stuck out in every direction, probably in his late 20s. He was visibly shaking and breathing hard. With his right hand, he clutched a deep cut on his left shoulder that was bleeding heavily. He also had many other wounds, including a few bruises, and a long cut that ran from his stomach down to his thigh. His current condition was most likely thanks to Ed, and he looked about ready to pass out from loss of blood.

However, there was strong determination in his eyes. Determination Al had so often seen in the golden eyes of his older brother.

As Al continued to study his appearance, he let his eyes trail down to his left hand. More specifically, the weapon that was grasped firmly in his left hand. It was a butcher knife. A rather large, rectangular piece of metal with a deadly, razor-sharp edge and a thick, black handle.

The man charged toward the two Elrics with his weapon extended. Ed gently lied Al down and stud to meet the sudden threat. As he watched his brother rush up to meet the man's attack, Al noticed a bright red liquid glistening on the sharp edge of the butcher knife. Al was sure that Ed had noticed it too, and Al's assumptions were proven correct when he watched his brother take careful care to make sure he blocked the weapon with his automail arm, keeping it from penetrating his flesh with the strange liquid dripping from its tip.

Al got the feeling that he had seen that red liquid before somewhere, but he couldn't remember where. Then again, he could just be imagining things. It was just a red colored liquid after all, there wasn't really anything unique about its appearance.

Al held his breath as he watched his brother fight. He was starting to get pushed back now, which wasn't surprising considering his condition and the fact that he was missing his automail leg. It was probably pretty hard to focus on fighting while also trying not to lose your balance.

Ed froze. Al didn't understand what was wrong at first, until he took a closer look. His brother's automail was finally at its limit, and he could no longer move it. It fell limp at his side and Ed cautiously took a step back from his opponent. The scientist noticed the blonde's change in confidence. With one quick move, he chopped off Ed's arm, wires now sticking out in various directions from the shoulder port.

With the sudden change in weight, Ed lost his balance and fell sideways to the floor. Al tried to reach for his brother, but he was too weak to do anything to help. However, much to the boys' surprise, the man turned away from the eldest Eric and took a few steps toward Al.

"Hey! What are you doing?! I'm your opponent! Don't you dare touch him!" Ed shouted hoarsely.

"This is the kid who was in the armor, right?" he asked, speaking for the first time. "You used the stone to get his body back, didn't you?"

Ed nodded slowly.

"That stone was my only chance! The Homunculi promised all of us anything we could wish for if we worked for them and were able to produce a successful philosopher stone. This was my last chance to save my daughter! If I just had more money, I could afford to put her in a better hospital! They could have given me what I need!"

Ed used his left arm to lift himself, so he could sit up. "You're naive," he said in a hushed voice. His head was down and he was panting, his long bangs obscuring his face.

"What?" The scientist spun around at Ed's comment so he was facing him again.

"The Homunculi have no respect for humans. You can't trust them. They'll make you empty promises they never intend to keep. I wouldn't be surprised if they planned on killing each and every one of you once they got what they wanted." Ed finished and looked up, his gaze unwavering and filled with experience. "Even if they could give you what you needed to save your daughter, this isn't the way to do it. Killing hundreds of lives to save just one isn't right. No human has the right to take the life of another, we aren't gods."

The man turned his head away, lifting his arm to wipe away the tears that had begun forming in his eyes with his sleeve. "What do you know? You're just a kid."

The three stayed in silence for a few moments, until the man lifted his weapon once again. "They might have still been willing to help me. It was my last chance, and you stole it away!" He was now being driven by anger and his own delusional thoughts. He needed someone to direct his anger toward, and the Elric brothers seemed like the perfect target.

Once again, facing toward Al, he raised his weapon and prepared to end the younger Elric's life. Al tried to get up but he was still too weak to move, not to mention paralyzed in fear. He squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself.

A while passed, but nothing happened. No pain. Instead, Al felt a something warm drip on his face. He opened his eyes cautiously, and saw his brother standing in front of him. He didn't realize what was happening at first, until he took a hand to whip the warm liquid off his face. When he brought his hand in front of his eyes, it was red. Blood. His brother's blood.

Al looked up in horror to see the butcher knife had been plunged straight into Ed's chest. Seemingly in surprise, the scientist had let go of the handle and took a step back. He hadn't been expecting Ed to jump in front of Al to protect him like that. After the initial adrenaline and anger that had been driving him wore off, it almost appeared to be a look of guilt had flashed in his eyes for a moment, but Al couldn't be sure.

Ed, his body still shaking, grabbed the handle of the knife and pulled it out of his chest. With one quick movement, he bashed the handle of the weapon into the man's head, knocking him out cold.

That's when Ed collapsed.

Al summoned every ounce of strength he had in his frail body, finally managing to get himself up off the ground. He crawled over to his brother's side, lifting him in his arms.

"B-brother!" Al screamed weakly, tears streaming down his face. Tears mixed with blood dripped onto the ground around the two brothers as Al held Ed close.

Ed looked up at his younger brother, his eyes trying desperately to focus on his face. "Al… don't cry," he whispered. "Everything's gonna be okay."

Al sniffed, his tears beginning to blur his vision. "No Ed, it will never be okay, not unless I have you with me! Don't leave me like this! You're my big brother, I need you!" Al squinted his eyes shut as sobs racked his fragile body.

"Al… don't… say that… you need to live… no matter what happens to me…" Ed insisted, his voice growing weaker.

"No! You're not going to die, brother!" Al screeched.

That's when Al heard the sound of the warehouse's large, sliding doors opening and the squeak of footsteps on the old, warped, wooden floor. Only a few moments after that, he heard the Colonel's voice.

XxXxXxXxX

"…and then you guys showed up. You know what happened from there," Al finished, looking up at Roy expectantly.

Roy took a deep breath. With this new information, they now had a chance at saving Ed. "Thank you for your help Alphonse. I promise to do everything in my power to make sure Fullmetal pulls through this. Doctor?"

Grant nodded. "As will I. We must head out to the scene of the crime immediately to find the butcher knife you described."

Their words seemed to reassure Al slightly, and Roy was glad for that. He didn't want this to cause the boy too much stress. Hopefully, he would stay positive and it would all work out fine in the end. If only Roy could follow his own advice, he had never been a particularly optimistic person.

"I'll call Hawkeye and tell her to bring my car around to the Hospital. Then we can get going," Roy said to the Doctor.

"Alright. You can use the phone at the front desk," Grant suggested. Roy nodded and started for the door to make the phone call.

XxXxXxXxX

The long drive back to the warehouse seemed to last even longer than last time. Every second wasted was another second of Ed's life being in danger. Roy only hoped that they'd be able to find the weapon, so the Doctor would be able to find a cure.

At least it hadn't taken long for Hawkeye to pick them up. He could always count on her. Not wanting to waste a single second, they had hopped in as soon as she had arrived, letting her take the wheel. She probably had a better memory of how to get there anyway since she was driving last time as well.

Hawkeye parked the car on the side of the road and hurried out the door. Roy and Grant followed her lead, the three of them rushing toward the familiar, large, wooden doors. There was caution tape surrounding the building and several people dressed in military attire standing around it, most likely in the investigation team. The men were most likely there to stop silvans from entering, despite the emptiness of the town, but they didn't do anything to stop the three of them from entering once they spotted Roy and Riza's uniforms.

Once they'd made it inside, Roy began to notice some things he hadn't noticed the last time he'd been here. Last time he'd been so preoccupied with trying to save Ed and get him and his brother to a hospital, that he hadn't paid much attention to the actual crime scene. Now that he looked closer, he could see a detailed transmutation circle drawn on the ground, underneath the layers of splattered blood, just like Al had described.

He took a few more steps into the building, searching for the object that could possibly be the key to Edward's salvation, when his eyes landed on a busted up piece of metal that resembled the shape of an arm. He kneeled down and picked it up to examine it more closely. This was definitely Ed's automail arm. It was really beat up and nearly in pieces, but he could still see the outline of the grill and and the distinguishable shape of the hand and fingers. One thing was for certain though, there was no way it was still functional.

Setting the arm back down, Roy let his obsidian eyes scan the room once more. This time, he found what he was looking for. Lying just a little ways from where he'd found the arm, was a large butcher knife with a thick, black handle. Roy rose to his feet and hurried toward the silver object. Once again, he knelt down, wanting to get a better look at it just to make sure it was the right one. When he looked closer, he noticed a red liquid pooling around the sharp edge of the knife. This is what they'd been looking for.

With renewed hope and excitement, Roy called the doctor over. "I found it! Come take a look!"

Grant turned toward Roy when he heard him calling his name and hurried over to his side. "You're right, it looks just like Alphonse described." He took a quick glance behind him, eyes scanning the room to make sure there wasn't any weapons similar enough to be confused with the one they were kneeling next to. "I just need a few samples of this red liquid, then we can head back to the hospital," he said as he pulled a few test tubes out of his coat pocket. While he was getting the samples, Roy went to talk to the head of the investigation team to authorize the removal of evidence from the crime scene.

XxXxXxXxX

The drive back was more relaxed then the drive to the warehouse. Roy, Riza, and Grant were all more at ease now that the object of importance had been retrieved, but there was still a tense sense of urgency in the air. It wasn't over quite yet, not until they found a cure for whatever this strange poison was.

Several hours later, Riza was finally able to pull into the parking lot of the hospital. The three of them wasted no time at all getting out and hurrying toward the front doors. They walked through the halls briskly with Grant in the lead, followed by Roy, with Riza taking up the back.

On their way to Ed's room, they ran into a nurse. Literally, ran into. She fell to the floor, dropping the sheets she had been carrying, as well as a few bottles of pills and other types of medicine. Grant apologized and helped her up while Roy and Riza kneeled down to gather up the items she dropped and hand them back to her.

"I'm so sorry, I'm such a klutz! I was in such a hurry that I wasn't paying attention to where I was going," The nurse apologized, her cheeks reddening in embarrassment.

"It's quite alright, we were in quite a hurry as well. It's not your fault," Grant assured her. "Now then, why were you in such a hurry?"

The nurse looked up, brushing her short orange hair out of her face. Her hazel eyes widened suddenly, as if she just now realized who she was talking to. "Dr. Grant! You're the one I was looking for actually," she exclaimed.

Grant's brows furrowed in contemplation. "You were looking for me? Why, has there been an incident with one of my patients?"

Roy's breath caught in his throat and he froze. Could something have happened to Ed? Were they too late to save him? Was he… was he… dead? No, that couldn't be it. Roy chastised himself for jumping to conclusions. Grant was a very accomplished and well known doctor around Central, he had many patients other than the Elric brothers. There was only a very small chance of it being about Ed.

"Yes, that's right. It involves a Mr. Edward Elric," she replied.

Well. So much for those odds.

"What happened? Has his condition worsened?" Grant asked her calmly.

She stood up and began walking back the way she had come. "Well, come see for yourself," she told them, beckoning with her hand for them to follow her. Once they reached Ed's room, she reached for the nob, but paused before opening the door. "It's not that his condition has worsened, it's…" She opened the door. Roy peaked inside with apprehension, dark eyes reluctantly making their way to the bed.

It was empty.

The nurse turned to face the three of them again. "Mr. Edward Elric has gone missing."


	7. Chapter 7

"He's what?!" Roy asked in a shocked tone, shooting the nurse a menacing look.

The young woman looked very intimidated and hesitated slightly before speaking. "W-well, just like I said, he's gone missing."

"I'm not deaf, I heard you the first time. What I want to know is where he's gone to!" Roy shouted irritably.

"I-I don't know! I knocked on his door nearly an hour ago to change his sheets. There was no answer, so I went in to make sure he was alright. Instead, I found the bed empty," she explained. "I've been asking all the other nurses who have been looking after him since you left with Dr. Grant, but none of them have even the faintest idea of what happened to him. Not a single person saw him leave the building!"

The woman was near hysterics. She seemed to have been worried before, but now that she had been exposed to Roy's severe reaction to the incident, she seemed much more panicked. Part of it probably had to do with Roy being a Colonel in the military, clearly expressed by his uniform. Any regular civilian would feel intimidated by a man of his rank, especially as emotionally charged as he was now.

Dr. Grant seemed to remain calm for the most part, but it was obvious that this new development worried him. "I'm going to ask around some more just to make sure you didn't miss anything," he said to the nurse. "In the mean time," he continued, addressing Roy and Riza this time, "the two of you should return to your jobs in the military. Please do not concern yourselves any farther with this matter, we will find Edward Elric as soon as possible."

Roy looked at the doctor as if he had grown a second head. "You can't honestly expect us to just wait around, can you?! There's got to be something we can do to help!"

"There is probably no need, Colonel," Grant insisted politely. "He couldn't have gotten far in his condition. Perhaps he just wandered out of his room because of confusion caused by the infection spreading throughout his body. If that's the case, I'm sure someone would have seen him leave. He may even still be in the building somewhere."

"Wait, that's right! What about the poison?! If you don't find him soon his life could be in danger!" Roy exclaimed in sudden realization of how severe the problem really was.

"You don't have to worry, I will order some of my interns and any of the nurses I can find that aren't busy to search the building for any sign of the patient. While they look for him, I will begin analyzing the samples I took from the crime scene to find a cure," Grant said, adjusting his glasses.

"But-" Roy attempted to protest, but was cut off as Grant continued.

"However, there may be something you can do. There is the possibility that Edward went back to the military post where the three of you work. It's only a walking distance away from the hospital, so I wouldn't be surprised if that's where he ended up." Grant nodded as he spoke, his thumb and forefinger supporting his chin in contemplation. "Search any place there where you think he may have gone, and maybe the area around as well. If you find him, or any leads as to where he's gone to, let me know immediately. But please, don't do anything too rash. This whole situation may not be as dire as you think. Just stay calm and keep your head about you." Once he finished speaking, he waited for Roy's response. His expression showed no room for argument.

Roy was still unsatisfied that he couldn't do anything more to help, but he reluctantly nodded his head in agreement. At least there was something he could do. If he was forced to just go back to his office to continue filling out paperwork, unable to do anything but worry, he might go mad.

But why did he care so much? Ed was just a badmouthed punk with no respect for authority.

Just another one of his subordinates, only one who doesn't follow orders.

So why did he feel an intense sense of dread and worry every time he sent the kid out on a dangerous mission?

"Sir."

"Huh?" The sound of Hawkeye's voice jolted Roy out of his thoughts.

"It's time for us to get going, sir," she repeated, sounding like she'd said it a number of times already. Her eyes softened and showed concern for her superior officer, as well as worry for Ed.

"Oh, right. Let's go."

The two of them headed out of the building and got back into the car, this time with Mustang driving. The short drive was quiet for the most part, but not calm. The air was still tense. At least it wouldn't take them long to get back. They could have just walked, but Roy didn't want to leave his car in the Hospital parking lot.

After a few minutes of silence, Riza spoke. "Sir?"

"Yes?" Roy asked.

"It seems like lately those boys have had one misfortune after another. I feel bad for them, and I'm really worried about Ed," she told him in a hushed voice.

While Riza usually had a stern and emotionless personality, being the one at work who made sure Roy and his lazy subordinates got their work done, she could be a very gentle and caring soul at times. She kept on a strong mask for the general public, but she was more relaxed with Roy. She let her mask slip a bit when it was just the two of them.

Roy let out a weary, melancholic laugh. "Yes, it seems like that's what their whole lives have been like. Just one misfortune after another…"

XxXxXxXxX

When Ed finally awoke, he had splitting headache, his vision was hazy, and he felt so weak he thought his body might give out on him at any moment. To sum it up, he felt like shit.

He tried to stand up, but settled for shifting to a sitting position when he felt lightheaded the moment he rose. And, he realized, it would be difficult to stand on one leg as dizzy as he was. After a while of sitting there like an idiot, it occurred to him that he wasn't in the hospital anymore. He was in a dark, dingy room that smelled of sewage and something rotting. There was one light in the room, a bare light bulb attached to a string on the ceiling right above Ed's head, but it wasn't very effective. The room was small, but large enough so that he would be unable to see the farthest walls if it got any were no windows and only one door. Well, it wasn't really a door. More like a rectangular hole in the wall that led to a dark hallway. The hallway was even darker than the room, so someone could be standing right outside watching him, and he would have no idea.

Ed lifted his flesh hand to run it through his hair, but paused at the sound of metal clinking against metal. He didn't notice it at first because he was used to the sound of his automail clinking in a similar way when he moved. However, he was missing both metal appendages at the moment. Looking down, Ed realized there was a chain attached to a metal restraint secured around his wrist, the other end attached to the wall behind him.

That's when Ed really started to panic.

He had no way of freeing himself with alchemy due to having only one arm at the moment, and through the haze of sickness and injury, his disoriented mind was unable to come up with any other escape plan. Before he had a chance to think any farther into his situation however, someone stepped out from the dark hallway and into the dimly lit room.

"How ya doing, shrimp?" A voice sneered. Ed looked up at the new arrival, trying desperately to focus on his face, despite the state he was in. Once he got a good enough look, it was easy to figure out who it was. Ed could never forget a face like Envy's.

"E-En… vy…" Ed choked out.

Envy laughed as he struggled to speak. "Having some trouble there, little alchemist?" Ed frowned and clenched his jaw at the short comments, but he was too weak to do anything else. "Guess that red water did the trick," the homunculus continued. "You should feel lucky. At least you weren't doused in the stuff, then it wouldn't have taken too long for you to kick the bucket. At least now you get to stay in this world and suffer for a while longer!"

Envy took a few steps closer to Edward until he was standing right in front of him and kneeled down so that they were at eye level. "Of course, you can't be allowed to die just yet. You're still a valuable sacrifice to us. But that doesn't mean I can't use you for my own enjoyment in the meantime!" Envy grabbed Ed's chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing him to look him right in the eyes. "Just as long as I keep you an inch from death, Father will condone it." Ed visibly paled as the full weight of his current predicament hit him. Envy only continued to laugh with a cruel, sadistic smile on his face.

XxXxXxXxX

Grant sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he walked down one of the hospital's long, white hallways. He'd grabbed every nurse and intern he could find and sent them off to search. They had been at it since they started yesterday, they had scoured the whole hospital, but there was still no sign of Edward.

As he walked, the small door that was the back entrance to the hospital came into view. Grant pushed on the handle with one hand and headed outside. He had already checked around the building the night before, but he decided to check again just to be sure. He'd been rechecking all the areas of the hospital all morning, just hoping he had missed something.

Walking along the back wall of the hospital, Grant noticed a horrible smell emanating from the large, green dumpster. He remembered smelling it the day before as well, but it hadn't been nearly as revolting as it was now. The last time he'd been out here, he had simply ignored the smell, thinking it was just the trash. Now though, the smell had gotten at least three times worse. It smelled like something rotting. There was definitely something not right here.

Grant cautiously stepped forward so he was standing right in front of the dumpster. The smell so much worse the closer he got that he had to block his nose with one hand. With his other hand, he reached out and grabbed the edge of the lid. He took a deep breath, and lifted it.

Grant gagged and closed it immediately.

XxXxXxXxX

Havoc sat down and lit the end of his cigarette. Fuery, Breda, and Falman sat down after him in some of the other chairs scattered around the unkempt office. They all heaved a sigh as they looked up at the clock. It read 7:30. They had been searching around HQ all day, and they still hadn't found any trace of Ed.

He thought it strange for Ed to just up and disappear like that. Havoc figured that the kid wouldn't just go when he was in such critical condition, and he definitely wouldn't leave his little brother behind. Or at least, that wouldn't be a choice he would make with a rational mind set. He hated to assume the worst, but what if Ed was kidnapped? And if they didn't find him soon… that infection… He'd be in big trouble.

Havoc looked around the room at each of his teammates. He could tell by their faces that they were all worried, probably just as worried as Roy was, but the boss was especially on edge. He told his team to keep searching and then locked himself up in his office. He'd been in there for about three hours now, and he still wouldn't answer when anyone knocked. He didn't even let Hawkeye in.

The second lieutenant had to wonder what in the world he'd been doing in there for so long. He highly doubted he was doing his paperwork like he was supposed to. He was probably trying to think of a plan of action, or maybe he was just sulking. Finally, someone voiced what they were all thinking.

"Do you think the Colonel's alright?" Fuery asked in a timid and quiet voice.

Falman turned his head toward the door that led to Mustang's personal office. "I don't know, maybe someone should check on him?" He wondered. "I'm worried about him. Of course, all of us are worried about Ed, but I'm sure the colonel is even more worried then we are. Even though he would never admit it, he thinks of Ed like he's his own son. Him and his brother both. I'm sure he's put a good amount of blame on himself for all this."

"Yeah…" Breda agreed. "That's just how he is. He always blames himself for things like this."

Havoc nodded and took a deep breath of the cancer inducing smoke from the cigarette in his mouth. "I really hope we're worrying about this for nothing. Who knows, maybe any second now the phone's going to ring and it'll be the hospital calling to tell us they found Ed." Just as Havoc finished speaking, the phone rang.

Hawkeye came in through the door when she heard the sound of the phone. Havoc got up and was about to answer it, but Hawkeye picked it up off the receiver before he had the chance.

"First Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye speaking," she said after she had lifted the phone to her ear. Havoc stayed standing and the rest of his subordinates sat and watched, waiting with suspense to find out if Havoc's previous assumption had been correct. "You found what?" she asked the person on the other end.

"Do you think they found Ed?!" Breda whispered. Hawkeye glanced in his direction and held up a finger to silence him.

"Oh… Yes... okay…" The conversation continued. "The Colonel? Oh he's… Okay. I'll be sure to tell him. Thank you." She hung up the phone and turned to her subordinates. She had a concerned expression on her face and looked paler than she had when she first picked up the phone.

"Hawkeye?" Havoc asked after a moments pause. "What was-"

"It was Doctor Grant," she cut him off. Without giving any more of an explanation, she turned away from Havoc and headed for the locked door that led to Roy's office. "Sir?" She asked after knocking a few times. She only got a slight "humph" in response.

She knocked a couple more times, this time more forcefully, and then waited a few more minutes before speaking again. "Colonel. Open this door immediately," she commanded in a stern and icy voice. This time there was no response.

Havoc silently pleaded along with everyone else in the room for Roy to open that door before...

Hawkeye pulled one of her revolvers from the holster around her waist and pointed it at the door.

Too late.

Hawkeye shot several rounds at the door. When she was out of bullets, she pulled out her other revolver and began another several rounds. Fuery and Falman ducked down and hid behind their chairs with their hands over their ears while Breda grabbed his chair and lifted it in front of his face to use as a shield, and Havoc just stood there like an idiot with his eyes open wide.

Finally, when it was over, the door came off its hinges and fell to the floor. Everyone else in the room cautiously got up and peered through the entrance while still keeping their distance from a trigger happy Hawkeye.

Inside was Roy sitting at his desk shaking like a leaf with his jaw clenched and his eyes open wide. "You're going to have to replace that you know…" he said once he decided that the danger had passed.

"I'll take care of it, sir." Hawkeye made her way over to his desk. "We just received a call from the hospital. Doctor Grant would like to see you immediately."

Roy razed an eyebrow. "What for? Has he found Fullmetal?" Although he tried to suppress it, there was desperate hope in his voice.

"No, sir. He found something that he things you should see. He'll explain when you get there."

"…Alright." Roy got up, looking chest fallen, but curious, and headed for the door.

"Colonel? Can we come?" Fuery asked.

"No, there's no need. Doctor Grant only requested my presence. I'll go alone and tell you what it was he wanted to show me when I get back," he decided.

Before he could make it out the door, Havoc spoke. "Wait!" Roy paused with his hand on the doorknob. "We're worried about Ed too. If the doctor found something relevant to his disappearance, we want to see it with our own eyes."

A few minutes of silence dragged by. Havoc sweatdropped, wondering if he'd spoken out of turn, when Mustang smirked. "Then what are you waiting for? Let's go." He turned the handle and stepped out without another word. As soon as Havoc snapped out of his state of surprise, they all followed him.

XxXxXxXxX

Once they arrived at the hospital, the team hurried inside to find Doctor Grant. It didn't take them long though, because he was standing in the main office waiting for them. Without a word, he motioned for them to follow him and began walking toward the back of the hospital. They all followed him until he stopped in front of what seemed to be the back entrance.

"I apologize for being so vague over the phone," he said without turning around. "What I found is out back." He then turned the handle and stepped outside, the Colonel and his team following close behind. He turned and headed along the wall toward a large, green dumpster.

"What exactly did you find? You still haven't told-" Mustang stopped mid sentence as the powerful stench hit him. He instantly gagged and pinched his nose between his thumb and forefinger. He turned around to see his entire team doing the same, even Hawkeye.

"I see you've noticed the smell," Grant observed.

"It's a bit hard to miss," Roy replied. There was one thing that bothered him though. The smell seemed eerily familiar, and it sent chills down his spine.

Grant waited for Mustang and his team to gather around him, before carefully opening the lid of the dumpster. The moment it was all the way opened, a wave of nauseating smell washed over Roy, even more powerful than before. He had to clasp his hands over his mouth to keep himself from spilling the contents of his stomach all over the place. Then, when he saw what lay within the nasty old dumpster, he had to bite his tongue to keep himself from crying out.

It was the dead and mangled corpse of one of the hospital interns.


End file.
